Sheriff's department: Machine turns guns into "metal confetti"

CAMDENTON - The Camden County Sheriff's Office shared video Friday of a system the office uses to destroy guns.

Cpl. Scott Hines said the sheriff's office contracts with a company in Chesterfield called GunBusters USA that destroys guns that can no longer be circulated.

Hines said deputies often respond to incidents where they end up taking a gun. Guns can be taken if they have been reported stolen, or have been defaced or altered, which includes serial number being tampered with or a shotgun being sawed off.

According to the Revised Statues of Missouri and U.S. Code, many of the guns can't be re-circulated and have to be destroyed.

Sheriff Dwight Franklin said, "Having these firearms destroyed beyond the possibility of repair, allows us to sleep soundly knowing they will never again be misused in order to harm another person. Once defaced, firearms become no longer the legitimate tool they were designed to be, but untraceable weapons often found in the hands of troubled youth."

Hines said the GunBusters Firearms Pulverizer system "is an original design that literally shreds firearms into metal confetti." He said the sheriff's office has sent more than 20 guns to Chesterfield since it started partnering with GunBusters in June. Some of the guns had been in the sheriff's office possession since 1997.

Hines said the office can destroy the guns at no cost to the agency. The system can also destroy computer hard drives, knives, license plates and other evidence.